Open Your Eyes series
by corneroffandom
Summary: Ricardo Rodriguez and Alberto Del Rio short stories.
1. Explanations

Ricardo Rodriguez stares blankly ahead as he sits at the hotel room desk, trying to make sense of his thoughts and feelings as he halfheartedly sketches. He knows Alberto Del Rio is somewhere behind him, doing whatever before he prepares for bed, but the former ring announcer can't bring himself to care right now. It hadn't been a great night for him.

He'd lost a match as El Local earlier in the evening, but that disappointment had been nothing in comparison to what he'd felt when he'd watched Alberto trying to charm Vickie Guerrero to get out of competing against Cena for his World title. The General Manager had requested he kiss her and Alberto had complied, first a somewhat chaste kiss, then a slightly more thorough one, though no less awkward. But his discomfort with the situation hadn't mattered to Ricardo- that he had done such a thing anyway had left him steaming, unable to believe that his former employer had done it at all, especially in such a public format, where he knows that Ricardo would be watching.

Sandow, for once, had been a welcome sight, and Ricardo had fought down his emotions while watching the match that followed, eyes dark and glum as the rest of Smackdown carries on. When Alberto returned to the locker room, pleased about his defeating Sandow, Ricardo had barely spoken, Alberto's face falling slightly when he saw the look in his eyes.

He gives him some time to himself at the hotel before approaching him. "Ah, mi valiente, I'm sorry about your loss." He hugs him from behind, not noticing how tense he still seems. "I'm sure you'll get them next time, hm?"

"Right," Ricardo mutters, his pencil scribbling angry grey lines against the paper, tearing it and ruining the picture he had been working on. "Next time. Sure."

Finally cottoning on that something more is wrong here, Alberto cups his hand and takes the pencil from him, pulling the chair he's sitting on back so he can fit on the desk, facing him. "Mi valiente, what's wrong? Something other than your match-"

"Did you enjoy kissing her?" he asks bitterly, staring down at his hands. "Vickie Guerrero? Did you enjoy the attention she was giving you- would you want to do it again-?"

Alberto looks like he's been punched, trying and failing to grab the other man's hands, Ricardo moving away from him with a frenzied, almost scared look in his eye. "What? Ricardo-"

"Just tell me the truth, Alberto. I know how much your title means to you, but... more than me? Really?" He grimaces and fights tears. "After everything we've been through, you can't even find another way outside of humilating me by kissing someone else on national TV... not once but three times?"

"Ricardo-"

"Was all of this just... pity? You claimed you loved me fresh off of Sheamus' brogue kick that jacked my neck up so badly, then took such good care of me when Big Show kept attacking me, and Swagger broke my ankle. I thought it was because you really loved me, but I... can't help but wonder now, when it's so easy for you to kiss someone else in front of tens of thousands of people... Did you even consider what that would do to me? Where my mind would go when I saw that?" His shoulders shake as he drops down on the bed and scrubs at his face, trying still not to cry. "I... I would never-"

Alberto swallows and approaches him, pain etched across his face. "I know you wouldn't, but- Ricardo, por favor-" The ring announcer doesn't move, doesn't react, as Del Rio kneels down in front of him, careful not to crowd him. "It wasn't pity, everything I've ever said to you regarding my feelings is sincere. I would never lie to you about such things. You have to believe me-"

"Do I?" he asks, voice muffled through his fingers.

Del Rio looks away, fighting his aggravation- with himself, with Vickie Guerrero, with the entire situation regarding Cena and his World title. He understands why Ricardo would feel betrayed, lied to, after everything they'd been through, but it still hurts. When he tries to convince him again, his voice is slightly shaking, fearing that it won't be enough. That Ricardo won't buy what he's saying, take his things, and leave. They're not even connected professionally anymore, so if he chose to leave, Alberto couldn't use a contractual obligation to bring him back. "Mi valiente, please. I have no feelings for Vickie, I have no feelings for anyone but you. You have been by my side through everything, good times and bad, and I would've been lost so many times without you. Vickie Guerrero has been nothing but a terror to both of us for years, constantly belittling you, sticking me in impossible situations. As if my taste in romantic interests would ever be that questionable." His voice trails away as he rests his hands on Ricardo's knees, lightly squeezing. "I aspire to have nothing but the best in my life, so why would I downgrade so sharply?"

The younger man peeks through his fingers, staring down at Alberto, shudders rattling through him. "Re- really?"

"Si! Si, of course, look at me. I'm not lying to you, I know I took it too far by kissing her, and I am so, so sorry for that, mi valiente, but things have not been easy for me either. I miss working alongside you, Ricardo, and I can't lose my World title as well... so I reacted in the moment, and I have regretted it every moment since." He gets back to his feet and settles down on the bed next to Ricardo. "Could you ever forgive me, mi valiente? And if there's anything I can do to make that easier, tell me, por favor, I'll do anything you ask of me..."

Ricardo breathes in deeply and ducks his head. "Could you just... just hold me...?" he asks wearily, Alberto staring at what of his face he can see.

"Of course," he mutters quietly, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him against his chest. "I've got you. Everything's going to be ok." He strokes his fingers through Ricardo's hair, lightly kissing the top of his head. "Lo siento, lo siento," he whispers, closing his eyes as Ricardo starts to cry against him. "Oh, mi valiente. Talk to me."

"It's just- I wasn't expecting any of this when I... I agreed to... cut our professional ties. How much it would hurt," he sniffs. "How hard it would be, without you by my side... I..." He chokes. "Seeing you with Vickie, I know it didn't really mean anything, but... I miss you and I'm afraid the more time we spend apart, the more you'll enjoy your freedom, and..."

Alberto stares down at him in shock and shakes his head. "Ay, Ricardo, never. Who is it I always find first thing as soon as I'm backstage after a match or segment? I hate every second we're apart, and I want no one else by my side to celebrate my victories with, or to comfort me after I lose. And, hey, I promise you," he breathes, tilting Ricardo's chin up so he can look him in the eye. "I will _never_ do anything like this again, si? No matter what's on the line, I will make sure to never put this expression on your face again." He gently wipes the tears off of Ricardo's cheeks and smiles down at him, leaning in towards him. "Trust me?" he asks a couple of inches from his lips, searching his eyes.

It takes a minute, Ricardo staring up at him wonderingly, but his simple, one worded answer eases some of the pain and guilt from Alberto. "Si," he breathes, nodding.

Alberto smiles at him and bridges the gap between them, kissing him warmly, the natural, perfect moment so unlike his forced ones with Vickie not lost on either of them. "I love you, mi valiente."

Ricardo smiles and wraps his arms around him, sighing softly as Alberto hugs him back. "And I love you, El Patron."


	2. Learning

Alberto shifts and stirs, groggy and disoriented. His dark eyes blink a time or two, hands sprawling out across the bed in search of... something, someone. He yawns and sits up, frowning to find that the spot next to him is empty, cool. Clearly abandoned long ago. "Ricardo?" he mumbles, kicking the sheets away and stumbling out of his bedroom. Ricardo's room is empty as well, and his confusion turns to worry as he wanders down the hall and finds Sofia in the kitchen, preparing lunch. He smiles slightly when he realizes it's well past 9 AM, but breakfast is still waiting for him, even if it's just homemade muffins and fruit. "Hola, Sofia, buenos dias," he offers, voice still thick with sleep as he takes a seat.

"Buenos dias, senor," she returns, smiling over her shoulder at him as she continues preparing chicken.

He stares at her for a moment, picking at a lemon muffin. "Ay, Sofia, have you seen Ricardo this morning?" He doesn't like seeming needy, but waking up without the ring announcer by his side had left him confused, floundering. Based on the smile that she fails at hiding, he's pretty sure she knows where the younger man is at. "Sofia, where is he?"

She hesitates, still spreading spices and herbs along the chicken before looking up at him. "Senor, I think he should be the one to tell you."

"Is it a surprise?" Del Rio wonders, unable to resist. He likes surprises, despite being well into his 30s, considering a man of his bearing and financial stability is usually the one to treat others to such things. She purses her lips, however, and turns back to her meal plans, clearly determined not to tell him anything else. He makes a face at her back before finishing off his muffin. "Perhaps I will go look for him on my own then," he tells her, dusting his hands off and returning to his bedroom to get dressed. Her lack of response still makes him huff out a breath as he searches his closet, deciding not to go all out in dress clothes as he's not sure what Ricardo is doing, exactly. He pulls on jeans and one of those shirts Ricardo had ordered from an online site with the two of them in chibi form, running a comb through his hair before he grabs one of his many sets of car keys just in case and ducks outside.

He wanders for awhile but his grounds are quiet, untouched by anything but dew and animals, so he quickly gives up that thought, especially when none of the lawn staff have seen Ricardo out this way, so he goes instead to one of the garages and selects a car, peeling out of his driveway after entering the security code at the gate. He's not sure where to look, exactly, checking all of Ricardo's typical favorite places, before he drives past the NXT training facility. Something makes him stop and return, frowning up at the building as he parks. "Hmm..." Mumbling to himself in Spanish, he exits the car and walks inside, glancing around at the facility. He tries to avoid this place, never thrilled with the time he'd spent in developmental, but something is calling to him now, so he follows his instincts.

There are a number of people scattered around, doing whatever it is they do here, his eyes trailing disinterestedly over them... before he spots a familiar form among them, dark hair and focused eyes locked on the nearby trainers, explaining to them what they're to do today. He stares on in shock before finding a seat out of sight of the ring, settling in to watch as the session carries on. Thankfully, everyone here knows to avoid him, especially when he glares warningly at them, so his presence isn't made public to the others who are training. This allows him to watch the duration of the training, his eyes locked on one person in particular, a proud little smirk on his face as they easily manage each practice thrown their way.

Once the group's time in the ring is wrapping up, Alberto stands up and makes sure he's visible, eyebrows raising when Ricardo exits the ring and turns just to come face to face with him, jumping backwards slightly. "Eh- eh, El Patron!" he gasps, eyes wide. "I... I, uh..."

Alberto laughs, resting his hands on his shoulders. "You, you uh what, mi valiente?" Ricardo is still gaping up at him in shock and Alberto decides to put him out of his misery, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his mouth. "This is where you've been all morning? Sofia wouldn't tell me... but somehow I ended up here, and guess who I see, but you..." He searches Ricardo's face with a fond smile. "But, Ricardo, why wouldn't you just tell me? I was confused when I woke up this morning and you were gone, I thought neither of us had plans today..."

The younger man swallows harshly and looks down, seeming ashamed of himself. "I, it's just... I didn't want to tell you that I've decided to begin training, I wanted to wait until I had something substantial to show for it..." He sighs. "I want to compete, I want to wrestle. This is hopefully the first step towards gaining attention, achieving that."

Alberto's smile slips at the hesitant, uncomfortable look on Ricardo's face, realization dawning on him. It had only been a few weeks ago that Del Rio had attacked him, taken him off of TV. Since, he had only been booked sparingly as El Local, and not at all in the last couple weeks. Of course he was going to start doing this, try another way to get booked into matches, even if just on NXT... "Oh, mi valiente, I didn't mean to make you feel bad- I shouldn't have barged in like this, but I honestly didn't know you were going to be here. If I had known how you felt about it..." He releases a deep breath and tugs Ricardo closer, kissing his forehead. "By what I've seen, you're already doing fantastic... I like watching you in the ring, but if you feel more at ease without my watching, I understand."

"I do, I- It makes me happy that you want to watch my progress, but..." He falters for a moment and shakes his head, smiling sheepishly. "You intimidate people on a good day, El Patron, and normally I'm more than fine with that, but not when I'm trying to train, si? And besides, if we're seen together too often, what will come of your idea for us to be separate professionally?"

Alberto winces, releases a breath. "True, mi valiente. You have a point. I was just... worried when I woke up this morning and you were gone, I wasn't truly thinking straight." He strokes Ricardo's neck and sighs. "But even so, I'm thrilled that you have taken this step, I have no doubt it will bring you much success." He smiles down at him. "Although we shouldn't be seen together too much in WWE halls, I know somewhere where we can go that such things will be alright." Ricardo looks curious as Alberto wraps an arm around him and leads him back to the locker rooms so he can shower and change before they leave.

While he waits on Ricardo, he calls Sofia, remembering the chicken she had been preparing, and encouraging her to store it until closer to supper time, as their lunch plans have changed. She's agreeable, thankfully, and his face lights up into a brilliant smile when Ricardo returns, his hair still damp and free of all product, making him look even younger as he stuffs the clothes he'd worn while training back in his bag. "So where are we going, El Patron?" he asks, turning to smile back at his former employer.

"Well, mi valiente, I kept hearing about this new sushi place that someone wants to try out and I figure... what better day than today, to celebrate how well he did in training by doing just that? Hmm? Does that sound good?"

Ricardo's eyes widen and he nods, hurriedly lifting his bag and moving quickly to Alberto's side. "Si, I've been wanting to go there for so long, El Patron! Muchas gracias."

Alberto smiles down at him, his eyes gleaming as he leans in and kisses him. "My pleasure, mi valiente," he whispers, hugging him warmly. "Let's go then, and you can tell me more about your training." He chuckles warmly as Ricardo's grin grows, the two of them walking side by side to the exit as Ricardo begins to do just that, Alberto's arm wrapped snugly around his shoulders. Alberto absentmindedly pushes the door open as Ricardo's hand reaches up and curls around his while it hangs off of his shoulder, squeezing lightly, Del Rio's teeth flashing as he grins too, staring fondly down at the other man.


	3. Comfort

Alberto suspects it's what he deserves. This abrupt loss of his World title, having to walk back through the halls empty handed, and with no one by his side to soften the blow. _That perro, John Cena,_ he thinks grimly. He doesn't even catch a glimpse of Ricardo on his way back to his room, because the younger man had opted to remain at the hotel. Watch the PPV from there, since he was still in the process of catching back up with his training and had only traveled out to keep Alberto company.

As lonely as the arena feels without him, Alberto is almost glad he's not here to perhaps get caught up in the maelstrom of his rage as he angrily collects his things from the World champion's locker room for the last time, staring around at what soon will be cluttered by Cena's nonsense. He releases a heavy breath and stares darkly at the monitor before seeking out his phone, thinking perhaps he could call Ricardo, try to calm down through a quick conversation with him... but he pauses, seeing text alerts from Twitter flashing there, and accesses the messages, wondering what could possibly be said from someone important enough to be on his alert list- Ricardo, and Memo, and a scarce few others-

All possibilities are wiped from his mind as he sees what had his phone lit up. A tweet, from Ricardo... congratulating Cena, and thanking him. He pales, shakes his head and rereads it, trying to convince himself that his mind's playing tricks on him, that he's so far addled from the loss and the physicality of the match that he's just imagining things... but no, the words are still there, still as damning as they were a moment earlier. "Ay, no," he mumbles, sitting down heavily. He only remains for a brief while, however, knowing that he needs to leave, that soon techs will be by ensuring that he's vacated the so-called new champion's locker room.

He wanders, once he finds himself out of the room, his bag dangling from his hand. Down hallways, through groups of staff making sure the show concludes successfully, outside. His car is nearby, he can see it gleaming in the lights overhead, but he walks past it and down a sidewalk, not minding the weight of his bag in his hand or the people who recognize him and mutter, whispering behind their hands. Some yell at him, but he doesn't stop, nor turn to look. All that keeps replaying in his mind is Ricardo's tweet to Cena. _Has he secretly been bitter towards me this entire time, or is he merely just holding true to our professional dissolution?_ He walks until his legs throb, already aching from the match, then has to turn around and backtrack to the arena to get his car, but he barely notices because, really, it's always been the emotional agony that has far exceeded the physical.

Their hotel room is dark, quiet, when he limps inside, and he's vacantly thrown to see that the clock says it's nearly midnight. He releases a faint breath, drops his bag by the door and wanders inside, comforted immediately by the familiar sound of Ricardo's steady breathing. But the former ring announcer isn't in the bed, and Alberto's eyes furrow as he tracks each inhale and exhale, finally spotting him nearby on the sofa. He smiles faintly, knowing that he sits up for Alberto and tends to fall asleep if he's out too late, wandering closer to him with a sad gleam in his eyes as he wonders how many times he's come home to a similar sight. Resting his hand on top of Ricardo's head, he strokes his hair lightly and leans in, kissing his forehead before he spots the iPad resting on his chest.

Tugging it from his slack fingers, he settles it on the nearby table and sits down next to Ricardo, unsurprised when he automatically curls in close to Alberto, his fingers tangling into the folds of his scarf. Somewhere along the line, the ring announcer must wake up because he murmurs, "El Patron?"

"Mm hmm." They sit quietly for a moment, Ricardo's breathing warm against Alberto's throat, the Mexican aristocrat's fingers gentle against his scalp, but finally he pulls back- not enough to escape Alberto's touch, but just enough to look up- and catches his eye.

"I'm sorry you lost tonight."

Alberto says nothing for a long moment, his fingers stilling against Ricardo's hair. "Right," he says lowly, closing his eyes and resting his head back against the couch, suddenly exhausted to the bone. He reconsiders having not just going to bed and leaving Ricardo to sleep here.

Ricardo's eyes widen at the subtle disbelief in his voice before glancing at his iPad. Realization and shame courses through him as he realizes. "Maldita sea, I forgot- you have text alerts on your phone."

"Si," Alberto confirms wearily.

"I- I... No, no, no, El Patron, I deleted those tweets! I realized how pathetic it was, I- they're gone, I swear to you. I didn't... didn't mean it like that, I just thought it would confirm to people that we are truly done and over with on a professional level. I don't enjoy for one moment that you've lost your title, I know how much it means to you, por favor-" He scrambles, leaning over Alberto to collect his iPad and show him that he's being honest, the tweets are gone, but Del Rio doesn't let him move, wrapping an arm around his chest and holding him in place. "Eh, El Patron-"

He chuckles slowly and shifts to look at Ricardo, a tired smile on his face. "Relax, mi valiente. Yes, at first the words were like a punch to my gut, but I do not hold them against you. I realized what you were trying to accomplish while I was driving here... Besides, after everything I have done and said that hurt you since we orchestrated this entire thing, I have no place to hold an impulsive tweet against you. Especially one that you apparently deleted as soon as you realized how wrong it was." He lightly strokes his fingers down Ricardo's palm and leans closer to him. "Just, no matter what happens from here on..."

Ricardo blinks, shuddering a little at the squirmy, tickling sensation traveling down his wrist, while staring at Alberto. "Si?"

"Never tweet anything pro-Cena again, si, mi valiente?"

"Si, definitely not," he agrees easily, smiling when Alberto kisses him.

"Let's go to bed now, this sofa is horrible." Alberto smiles as Ricardo nods eagerly and gets off of him, holding a hand out to the older man. Lacing his fingers with Ricardo's, he allows himself to be pulled upright and the two of them walk side by side to the bed to get some proper sleep before Raw tomorrow, Del Rio determined to get his title back somehow, someway.


End file.
